WingedEagle

I absolutely loved every minute of that. Storm/Shirai may have been better and more focused, but this was everything you want out of a multi-person tag.

This tag is blowing away what I expected. Everyone looks good and the timing/flow have been terrific. Really well laid out with great pacing. Absolutely digging it.

So that was very good while it lasted, with some neat wrinkles and big time spots, but it felt too quick given the stakes and setting. Happy with what we got but it could've used another 4-6 minutes.

May be early to make this call, but it looks like we're getting Stardom's Io Shirai rather than the version that couldn't stop playing to the hard cam during the MYC.

Battle Royal wasn't any good. The Carmella bit and brief Ember/Asuka segment were fun, but nearly every elimination was poor and identical, as most of the women can't truly bump over the top, and the finish was flat as hell.

Don't forget the guy in a Syndergaard jersey.

So that tag was a lot better than I expected. Well laid out and while hardly flawless execution, between the pace and energy it was pretty fun.

I actually think the build for this has been pretty solid, especially when you consider that they were building the Australia and Saudi shows at the same time. The big matches here got ample time and promos across four TV shows -- four! -- as you had Ronda/Nikki and the Trish/Lita tag on Raw, Charlotte/Becky on Smackdown, Shirai/Toni on MYC and Kairi/Shayna on NXT. The rest of it was arguably thrown together without a ton of focus, but how is that really all that different from most PPVs? I was stoked when they originally announced the show and thought it was a lock I'd go, and yes, the lineup and build end up such that I didn't feel compelled to risk getting home close to perhaps 1AM on a Sunday night, but the big 4 matches all *could* be legitimately great. Unlikely that each of them will, but those are strong odds that we get a strong show. Combine that with at least a couple moments when its likely to get a bit dusty in here for those of us who are softies that tap easiily and it should be a pretty fun night on the couch.

Fuck. Just incredibly awful news. My jaw was on the floor like many others watching this. I'm not about religion, but thoughts and prayers to Roman, his family and friends. Hopefully he pulls through this.

What were the circumstances behind him making the finals of the 1980 Champion Carnival? Was it simply not as big a deal as it would become in later years?

Wow. Legitimately shocked by the top of the list for this period. I knew you gave high marks to the Sting/Vader feud, but ahead of both Wargames! Keep it up, I can never get enough of these.

And then played singalong with Taker's catchphrase.

So Crown Jewel has been heavily promoted tonight, but they've gone out of their way to avoid explicitly referencing S***i A****a, correct?

It seems as though a common theme throughout Austin Aries's career is Austin Aries performing unprofessionally.

That's just not an interesting take these days.

No one will mistake this for an all time classic, but I thought this was a terrific match that stood out for its pacing and simplicity. The early minutes are worked around a Dusty headlock and Race's efforts to avoid it. Race uses simple, credible cutoffs like short headbutts and kicks while Dusty brings the fire and charisma to a receptive Japanese crowd. Both do a terrific job of working what's essentially a simple, basic match but doing so in big fashion for the live and TV audience. Race's bumps and selling are big and expressive without veering into anything ridiculous. I mentioned the pacing, but it can't be commended enough for never feeling slow, but at the same time every action was given time to breathe for a long enough pause that it mattered to the match and the audience. Really strong stuff here. ***1/2

Nothing wrong with hoping people face appropriate consequences that may arise from their actions. I'm not holding my breath, but it would be a refreshing change.

https://ijr.com/senators-wwe-saudi-arabia-event-crown-jewl/ Now we're getting somewhere. Still don't think I'd bet on any major audibles, but the timing was bound to bring some unsolicited attention and scrutiny.

That card doesn't exactly make me regret passing on the show. Hope its a great one but its not a lineup I'm going out of my way to attend on a Sunday night.

Linda's done a remarkably good job of keeping a low profile throughout this nightmare, but you have to think at some point her position will bring a critical eye towards this relationship.

So they found some fun and original ways to work a triangle match. Whether worked around laying out one man so the other two could work together, near falls/saves or expanding a wrestler's signature spot to use 3 participants (see Ibushi's lawn dart) there was very much some good here. On the other hand, I'm not a fan of the Omega/Ibushi angle they're working here, whatever it may be. I really liked their G1 match but didn't think it worked in this setting where they weren't necessarily eager to tear into each other, but at the same time were quite eager to prevent the other from winning. We know its not building to WK. Perhaps MSG is a possibility, but that would seem too far removed from the G1 to retain whatever heat and intrigue were in place then. Bottom line -- this was a fine match but would be New Japan's worst main event in some time absent the recent Suzuki/Naito stinker (I didn't find their first outing earlier this year as bad as most). it was way too long with too many shenanigans and "bad Kenny" -- overacting and exaggerated bumping rather than any compelling selling. ***1/4

White has become a great heel that the crowd absolutely loves to hate. I also thought Gedo's performance here was terrific and look forward to more from him in the stooging, smarmy heel manager role. This wasn't the the dramatic classic that you might find (if you're a NJPW fan) in Tanahashi's big matches, but it was a strong and effective outing that furthered a couple interesting storylines. As opposed to the main event. A bit surprised we're not getting a Tana/Okada tag at Power Struggle as that seemed to be the tease, but I can't complain with Wrestle Kingdom looking like it'll have at worst 4 and maybe 5 singles matches with incredible intrigue and potential. ***3/4

Thanks! On Civil War, it looks like there's a trade paperback collecting all of these under the Civil War banner, but another site made it sound like you need to read a bunch of issues under other titles. What's necessary? I'll look into what's available on the others online, but my gut is that I'm old school and want to hold it in my hands rather than on the computer. We'll see if that changes.

Those new Hidden Gems sound incredible. I don't want to get too hot about it until we see if and how strongly they're clipped, but this reads like quite the haul.